there are less than five weeks to go before the election, and there are certain things, mitt romney's tax plan, barack obama on social security, barack obama on simpson bowls and debt reduction, they don't want to put meat on the bone. people criticized the moderator. i'm not sure if the moderator pushed more for specifics if they decided i'm not going down this road, and they both clearly decided that on social security for obama, on tack plx plan for romney. i don't know how much cajoling will get them. barack obama being better today than he was last night, here's the problem. let's say there were 5,000 people at that rally. 50 plus million people we expect to have watched the debate last night. that's the issue. you need to be at your best when the audience is massive. you know, being good at a rally with your supporters is a lot easier than being good at a big, giant event where you're being directly confronted by the guy who wants your job. >> chris cillizza, ruth marcus and john harris, thank you all very much. >>> and how does mitt romney capitalize on his debate performance?